A winner and two runners-up will be picked, for possible publication in a collection. Further details to be announced on finalisation of the final selection.

What we're looking for:
The SA HorrorFest Bloody Parchment team is looking for short stories novellas that fall under the horror and dark fantasy/SF genres. If it's dark, we're interested. While we're obviously looking for Africa's best, this competition is open to folks from further afield. If you have any questions, feel free to drop the editor, Nerine Dorman, an email at nerinedorman@gmail.com

Friday, January 8, 2016

Finally, despite a few obstacles cast in our way, we're proud to present the cover of the 2013 South African HorrorFest Bloody Parchment finalists. This volume is goes with the title of the winning story by Ruth Browne: Beachfront Starter Home, Good Bones.

Many thanks to Thomas Dorman and Ronnie Belcher of award-winning BlackMilk Productions for their part in creating this year's cover. Do go check out BlackMilk's short surreal horror film La Mia Carne over on YouTube.

Bloody Parchment: Beachfront Starter Home, Good Bones will be released soon by Crossroad Press. Submissions for the 2016 competition will open on June 21, 2016, and close on October 31, 2016. We will accept submissions of dark speculative fiction in two categories: short fiction (up to 3 500 words) and novella (between 15 000 to 30 000 words). Although this is primarily a short story competition geared towards promoting and developing African speculative fiction, we accept international entries. Email nerinedorman@gmail.com for further information.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

While 2014 resulted in some unexpected challenges (and with the upcoming anthologies from the past two competitions still in production), the SA HorrorFest Bloody Parchment team is pleased to announce that the 2015 competition is now open, only we're about to see some changes afoot.

We have decided to shift focus from short stories to the novella form, and this year we are looking novella entries of between 15 000 to 30 000 words. If you're not sure of what a novella is, go check out this link.

A winner and two runners-up will be picked, for possible publication in a collection. Further details to be announced on finalisation of the final selection.

What we're looking for:

The SA HorrorFest Bloody Parchment team is looking for novellas that fall under the horror and dark fantasy/SF genres. If it's dark, we're interested. While we're obviously looking for Africa's best, this competition is open to folks from further afield. If you have any questions, feel free to drop the editor, Nerine Dorman, an email at nerinedorman@gmail.com

The aim of the Bloody Parchment short story competition is to help develop talented, fresh voices in the horror, dark fantasy and weird genres, by offering a platform and signal boost for finalists. Every year we assemble a kick-ass panel of judges who are all movers and shakers in the publishing industry, with such notables as Sarah Lotz, Joe Vaz, Cat Hellisen and others who have helped in the selection process during the past. While we’re yet to announce which publisher will be picking up where eKhaya left off, there is a fantastic first prize up for grabs for the winner: a comprehensive round of edits and manuscript assessment. The two runners-up are each awarded a round of comprehensive edits and assessment of a short story or novella-length work. The winner, runners-up and finalists then have the option to be included in the short story anthology to be released mid-2015.

What are we looking for?
Bloody Parchment is looking for short stories of up to 3 500 words in length, in the horror, dark fantasy and weird genres. Yes, this includes flash fiction. Yes, you may enter multiple stories. Yes, we like flash fiction too. LGBT authors of genre fiction are welcome. Stories set in locations other than the US or Europe would tickle us pink. We love diversity. We want to know what moves you, what mysteries fascinate you, what frightens you… So long as your story clearly falls within the horror, dark fantasy and weird genres, you’re good. We want to be unsettled

What we DO NOT WANT.
Fan fiction with the serial numbers filed off: When the Saw movies were popular, my inbox was flooded with torture porn; during 2012 it was various permutations of popular zombiepocalypses. 2013 for some reason saw gratuitous violence against women used as a cheap literary device. Mercifully vampires seem to have gone into remission. Please folks, I know you’re excited by whatever’s currently trending on your Twitter feeds, but if you absolutely MUST play with the tropes, DO put a fresh spin on your offering that will be amazeballs. We want you to dig deep and find something that is truly your own. Content that is clearly aimed to deliberately shock for the sake of wiggling your jollies will be rejected out of hand.

In addition, stories that do not follow the brief will be rejected too, so no, we do not want your Christian inspirational fiction, 30 000-word novellas, chick lit or poems. (Every time an author doesn’t follow the submission guidelines, a small gremlin curls up and dies.)

Right, now that we have that out of the way, this is how you enter: mail your short story saved as a .doc file (not exceeding 3 500 words) to nerinedorman@gmail.com before October 31, 2014. Remember to put “BLOODY PARCHMENT 2014” in the subject line. In the body of your email, please give me your real name, pen name, nationality and word count. Good luck! And if you have any questions, feel free to drop me a mail. I don’t bite…much.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Okay, the moment we've all been waiting for. First off, a HUGE thank you to this year's judges, who represent a range of bookish folks, from an avid reader like Barry Gill, to author and bookseller Dave de Burgh, editors and authors Tracie McBride and Louis Greenberg, and author Cat Hellisen. I am indebted to author Carrie Clevenger, who helped read submissions, as we had a record number of entries.

We'll be opening submissions for the 2014 competition on June 21, and if you wish to keep in touch with developments, feel free to stalk me on Twitter. I'll be posting regular progress bits and bytes there as things progress.

This year Dark Continents Publishing will be bringing out the anthology, to be released in time for the 2014 South African Horrorfest, but more about that later...

Sunday, February 2, 2014

With judging of the 2013 short story competition currently underway, we thought it only right and proper that we share some of the authors who read at our event that was held at the Book Lounge in Cape Town last year.

A big thank you to the awesome Ric Shields for catching us on film. And once again a very big thanks to the Book Lounge for having us over, and to Paul and Sonja from the South African HorrorFest for arranging yet another awesome festival. With thanks to Leopard's Leap Family Vineyards for the wine sponsorship, as well as Penguin SA and Dark Continents Publishing for the prizes that we handed out on the night.

For those of you who're yet to read the 2012 anthology published by eKhaya, go feed your kindle with this super collection of short tales of horror. Bloody Parchment: The Root Cellar and Other Stories brings a fresh crop of horror and dark literature from the most recent South African HorrorFest Bloody Parchment short story competition. From dreary subterranean chambers and angelic visitations to the many-legged horrors of alien invaders and a meeting with the Devil himself, this collection of tales offers readers the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the likes of Toby Bennett (winner), and runners-up Anna Reith and Chris Limb. Finalists include Diane Awerbuck, Simon Dewar, Zane Marc Gentis, Stephen Hewitt, Benjamin Knox, Lee Mather, Glen Mehn, S.A. Partridge, and Icy Sedgwick.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

It’s time to haul out your wizard’s hat, carve your pumpkin and dust off those fake spiders – the SA HorrorFest Bloody Parchment event will once again manifest in the basement of the Book Lounge. With the likes of S.A. Partridge, Diane Awerbuck, Toby Bennett, Henrietta Rose-Innes, Zane Marc Gentis, Carine Engelbrecht, Rachel Zadok and Nerine Dorman offering their particular brand of strange tales on the night, you’ll be in for a spooky, Halloween treat. And there will be prizes for the best costume, so come be our best Frankenstein!When? October 30.Where? 71 Roeland Street, Cape Town.What time? 5.30pm for 6pm.

About Me

An editor and multi-published author, Nerine Dorman currently resides in Cape Town, South Africa, with her visual artist husband. Some of the publishers for whom she has edited works include Dark Continents Publishing and eKhaya (an imprint of Random House Struik). Her fiction sales include works to Dark Continents Publishing, Wordsmack, Tor Books, Apex Publishing and Immanion Press. She has been involved in the media industry for more than a decade, with a background in magazine and newspaper publishing, commercial fiction, independent filmmaking, print production management and advertising. Her book reviews, as well as travel, entertainment and lifestyle editorial regularly appear in national newspapers and online. A few of her interests include music, travel, history, Egypt, art, photography, psychology, philosophy, magic and the natural world.

Her published works include Khepera Rising, Khepera Redeemed, The Namaqualand Book of the Dead, Tainted Love (writing as Therése von Willegen), Hell’s Music (writing as Therése von Willegen), What Sweet Music They Make, Inkarna, and Camdeboo Nights. Her short fiction regularly features in anthologies.

Titles co-written with Carrie Clevenger include Just My Blood Type, and Blood and Fire.

She is the editor of the Bloody Parchment anthologies, Volume One; Hidden Things, Lost Things and Other Stories; and The Root Cellar and Other Stories. In addition, she also organises the annual Bloody Parchment event in conjunction with the South African HorrorFest.

She is also a founding member and co-ordinator for the Adamastor Writers’ Guild; edits The Egyptian Society of South Africa’s quarterly newsletter, SHEMU; and from time to time assists on set with the award-winning BlackMilk Productions.